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| Almaty Алматы |
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  Almaty
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| Coordinates: 43°16′39″N 76°53′45″E / 43.2775°N 76.89583°ECoordinates: 43°16′39″N 76°53′45″E / 43.2775°N 76.89583°E | |||
| Country |  Kazakhstan |
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| Province | |||
| First settled | 10–9th century BC | ||
| Founded | 1854 | ||
| Incorporated (city) | 1867 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Akim (mayor) | Akhmetzhan Yesimov | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 324.8 km2 (125.4 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 500–1,700 m (1,640–5,577 ft) | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| - Total | 1,420,747 | ||
| - Density | 4,152/km2 (10,753.6/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC+6 (UTC+6) | ||
| Postal code | 050000–050063 | ||
| Area code(s) | +7 727[1] | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ALA | ||
| License plate | A | ||
| Website | http://www.almaty.kz | ||
Almaty (Kazakh: Алматы / Almatı / الماتى), formerly known as Alma-Ata (Russian: Алма-Ата, until 1992) and Verny (Russian: Верный, until 1921), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of 1,348,500 (as of 1 September 2008),[2] which represents 9% of the population of the country.
It was the capital of Kazakhstan (and its predecessor, the Kazakh SSR) from 1929 to 1997. Despite losing its status as the capital to Astana, Almaty remains the major commercial center of Kazakhstan.
Contents |
The name "Almaty" derives from the Kazakh word for "apple" (алма), and thus is often translated as "full of apples". The older Soviet-era Russian version of its name, Alma-Ata, originates from the saint's tomb, buried in an apple orchard, whence the name, "Saint of the Apple (orchard)" or "Father of Apples".[citation needed] "Ata" standing for father in Kazakh and many other Turkic languages, also stands for a saint or a priest, as the term "padre" in the Romance languages. The old name for the new capital of Kazakhstan, Astana was Akmolinsk/Akmola--, "White Shrine/Mausoleum", a reference to another saint's burial ground.
In fact, in the region surrounding Almaty, there is a great genetic diversity among the wild apples; the region is thought to be the ancestral home of the apple, and the wild Malus sieversii, is considered a likely candidate for the ancestor of the modern domestic apple. The area is often visited by researchers and scientists from around the world in order to learn more about the complex systems of genetics, and also to discover the true beginnings of the domestic apple.
During 1000–900 BCE in the Bronze Age the first farmers and cattle-breeders established settlements on the territory of Almaty.
During the Saka’s period (from 700 BCE to the beginning of the Common Era), these lands were chosen for residence by Saka tribes and later Uisun tribes inhabiting the territory north of the Tian Shan mountain range. The evidences of these times are numerous burial tumuli and ancient settlements, especially giant burial mounds of Saka tsars. The most famous archaeological finds are the Golden man from the Issyk Kurgan, Zhalauly treasure, Kargaly diadem, Zhetysu arts bronze (boilers, lamps and altars). During the period of Saka and uisun governance, Almaty became the early education center.[3]
The next stage of Almaty evolution is attributed to the Middle Ages (8–10th centuries) and is characterized by city culture development, transfer to a settled way of living, farming and handicraft development, and the emergence of a number of towns and cities in the territory of Zhetysu.
In 10–14th centuries, settlements in the territory of the so called "Big Almaty" became part of the trade routes of the Silk Road. At that time, Almaty became one of the trade, craft and agricultural centers on the Silk Road and possessed an official mint. The city was first mentioned as Almatu in books from the 13th century.
In 15–18th centuries, the city was on the way to degradation as trade activities were decreasing on this part of the Silk Road. Notwithstanding, this period was saturated with very important political events that had significant impact on the history of Almaty and Kazakhstan as a whole. It was a period of crucial ethnic and political transformations. The Kazakh state and nation were founded here, close to Almaty.
These lands also witnessed the tragic developments related to the Dzungar intervention and rigorous efforts of the Kazakh to protect their land and preserve independence. In 1730 the Kazakh defeated the Dzungar in the Anyrakay mountains, 70 km to north-west from Almaty. It was a critical moment of the Patriotic War between Kazakhs and Dzungars.
On 4 February 1854 the modern history of the city began with the strengthening of the Russian piedmont Fort Verniy nearby the Zailiysky Alatau mountain range between Bolshaya and Malaya Almatinka rivers. The construction of the Verniy Fort was almost finished by autumn 1854. It was a fenced pentagon and one of its sides was built along the Malaya Almatinka. Later, wood fence was replaced with the wall of brick with embrasures. Main facilities were erected around the big square for training and parading.[5]
In 1855 the first displaced Kazakh appeared in Verniy. Since 1856, Verniy started accepting Russian peasants. They founded the Bolshaya Almatinskaya Stanitsa (Cossack village) nearby the fortification. The inflow of migrants was increasing and led to construction of the Malaya Almatinskaya Stanitsa and Tatarskaya (Tashkentskaya) sloboda. It was the place of settlement for Tatar mechants and craftsmen.
In 1867 the Verniy Fort was transformed into the town and called Almatinsk. However, the population did not like the new name of the town and soon the town was re-named as Verniy.
According to the First City Plan, the city perimeters were 2 km on the south along Almatinka river, and 3 km on the west. The new city area was divided into residential parts, and the latter — into districts. Three categories of the city buildings were distinguished. Buildings of the first and second categories were two-storied or, at least, one-storied constructions with the high semi-basement. Buildings of categories I and II were erected around and in the center of the city, others — on the outskirts.
On 28 May 1887, at 4 a.m., an earthquake almost totally destroyed Verniy in 11–12 minutes. Brick buildings were mostly damaged. As a result, people were inclined to build up one-storied construction made of wood or adobe.
In 1921, the joint solemn sitting was summoned for the participation of the representative of government regional and sub-regional institutions, professional trades, the Muslim people to make a decision to assign a new name to Verniy — Alma-Ata.
In 1926, the Council of Labour and Defence approved the construction of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway railway that was a crucial element of the republic reconstruction, specifically on the east and southeast of the republic. The Turkestan-Siberia Railway construction was also a decisive economic aspect that foreordained the destiny of Alma-Ata as a capital of Kazakh ASSR. In 1930 the construction of the highway and railway to the Alma-Ata station was completed.
On 2 March 1927, It was the initiative of the Central Executive Committee of the Kazakh Republic to transfer the capital from Kyzyl-Orda to Alma-Ata. The VI Kazakhstani Congress approved this initiative.[6]
On 29 April 1927, it was officially decided on the sitting of the Russian SFSR Committee to transfer the capital of the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from Kyzyl-Orda to Alma-Ata.
Besides, the Alma-Ata airport was opened in 1930 and people from the capital of Kazakhstan could fly now from Alma-Ata to Moscow. Alma-Ata became the air gate to Kazakhstan. Transformation of the small town into the capital of the Republic was supplied by the large-scaled construction of new administrative and government facilities and housing.
Given the transfer of the capital of Kazakhstan to Alma-Ata, in 1936 the Architecture and Planning Bureau elaborated the General Plan aimed at re-creating Alma-Ata as the new cultural and comfortable capital of Kazakhstan. The Plan was based on the existing rectangular system of districts that would further be strengthened and reconstructed.
During World War II the city territory was changed to a large extent. To organize the home front and concentrate industrial and material resources, the residential stock was compressed to arrange accommodation for 26,000 persons evacuated. Alma-Ata hosted over 30 industrial facilities from the front areas, 8 evacuated hospitals, 15 institutes, universities and technical schools, around 20 cultural institutions, etc. Motion picture production companies from Leningrad, Kiev and Moscow were also evacuated to Alma-Ata.
Owing to self-denying labour, over 52,000 Alma-Ata residents were awarded. 48 residents were granted the title of Hero of The Soviet Union. Three rifle divisions were raised in Alma-Ata , including the well-known 8th Panfilov’s division, along with 2 rifle battalions and 3 aviation regiments that were raised on the bases of the air club of Alma-Ata.
From 1966 to 1971, 1,400,000 square meters of public and cooperative housing were put into operation. Annually, around 300,000 square meters of dwellings were under construction. It was the period of constructing earthquake-proof multi-storied buildings. Construction unification and type-design practice diversified architectural forms. At that time were constructed lots of schools, hospitals, cultural and entertainment facilities, including the Lenin’s Palace, Kazakhstan Hotel, sport complex “Medeo”, etc.
The Medeu Dam, designed to protect the city of Almaty and the Medeo skating rink from catastrophic mudflows, was built in 1966 and reinforced a number of times in the 1960s and 1970s.
The supersonic transport Tupolev Tu-144 went into service on 26 December 1975, flying mail and freight between Moscow and Alma-Ata in preparation for passenger services, which commenced in November 1977. The Aeroflot flight on 1 June 1978 was the Tu-144's 55th and last scheduled passenger service.
Since 1981, the underground Almaty Metro construction project has been developed.
On 16 December 1986 Jeltoksan riot took place in response to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's dismissal of Dinmukhamed Kunayev.
In 1993 the government made a decision to rename Alma-Ata. The new name of the city is Almaty.
In 1997 the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev approved the Decree to transfer the capital from Almaty to Astana.[7]
On 1 July 1998 was passed the Law concerning the special status of Almaty as a scientific, cultural, historical, financial and industrial center.
The new 2030 General Plan of Almaty was developed in 1998 and aims at forming ecologically safe, secure and socially comfortable living conditions. The main objective is to promote Almaty’s image as a garden-city. One of the components of the General Plan is to continue multi-storied and individual construction, reorganize industrial territories, improve transport infrastructure and launch Almaty Metro.[citation needed]
Almaty features a humid continental climate with very warm summers and cold winters. Its wettest months are April and May, during which about a third of the city’s annual precipitation is received. August and September are the driest months where on average under 30 mm of precipitation is seen.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.2 (65) |
19.0 (66) |
28.0 (82) |
33.2 (92) |
35.1 (95) |
39.3 (103) |
41.7 (107) |
40.5 (105) |
38.1 (101) |
31.1 (88) |
25.4 (78) |
19.2 (67) |
41.7 (107) |
| Average high °C (°F) | -0.2 (32) |
1.4 (35) |
7.0 (45) |
17.2 (63) |
21.6 (71) |
26.7 (80) |
29.8 (86) |
28.7 (84) |
23.8 (75) |
15.9 (61) |
7.5 (46) |
2.4 (36) |
15.2 (59) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | -4.9 (23) |
-3.4 (26) |
2.2 (36) |
11.7 (53) |
16.1 (61) |
21.0 (70) |
23.8 (75) |
22.5 (73) |
17.5 (64) |
10.2 (50) |
2.7 (37) |
-2.2 (28) |
9.8 (50) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -9.6 (15) |
-8.2 (17) |
-2.6 (27) |
6.1 (43) |
10.5 (51) |
15.2 (59) |
17.8 (64) |
16.3 (61) |
11.2 (52) |
4.5 (40) |
-2.1 (28) |
-6.7 (20) |
4.4 (40) |
| Record low °C (°F) | -30.1 (-22) |
-37.7 (-36) |
-24.8 (-13) |
-10.9 (12) |
-7.0 (19) |
2.0 (36) |
7.3 (45) |
4.7 (40) |
-3.0 (27) |
-11.9 (11) |
-34.1 (-29) |
-31.8 (-25) |
-37.7 (-36) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 33 (1.3) |
41 (1.61) |
62 (2.44) |
111 (4.37) |
106 (4.17) |
61 (2.4) |
38 (1.5) |
27 (1.06) |
29 (1.14) |
56 (2.2) |
52 (2.05) |
41 (1.61) |
657 (25.87) |
| Source: [1] 2009-08-14 | |||||||||||||
Ethnic groups (2003)[citation needed]:
According to the USSR Census of 1989, population of Almaty was 1,071,900; Kazakhstan Census of 1999 reported 1,129,400.[8]
Almaty is also developing as the regional financial and business centre — RFCA.[citation needed].
Air Astana is headquartered in the Air Astana Centre 1 in Almaty.[9] Prior to their dissolution, Air Kazakhstan[10] and Kazakhstan Airlines[11] were also headquartered in Almaty.
An aerial tramway line connects downtown Almaty with a popular recreation area the top of Kök Töbe (Kazakh: Көктөбе, which means 'Green Hill'), a mountain just to the southeast. The city television tower, Alma-Ata Tower, is located on the hill, as well as a variety of amusement-park type attractions and touristy restaurants.
According to the city's Department of Natural Resources and Resource Use Management,[12] as of 2007 the city has 125 fountain groups or isolated fountains. Among them is the "Oriental Calendar" Fountain, whose 12 sculpture figures represent the 12 animals of the Kazakh 12-year animal cycle (similar to its Chinese counterpart).
for further details: List of universities in Kazakhstan
Almaty was an official candidate to host the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014,[13] but was eliminated from consideration after it failed to be included in the "short list" of candidate cities. Almaty won its bid to host the 2011 Winter Asian Games. The city is exploring possible future bids, such as the 2018 Winter Olympics. However, the city failed to submit a bid as an applicant city for the 2018 games.
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Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan, located in Almaty Province.
Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan, and is still its largest city. Being a financial and cultural center of Central Asia, Almaty boasts large tourist and expatriate communities.
A small mountain range borders the city to the east and in the far south on a clear day you can see the beautifully rugged, snow capped mountains, right at the city's doorstep. The city, in general, slopes from south to north. It means that you are going south, if you are traveling uphill.
Almaty is in top 50 most expensive cities worldwide. Even if Almaty has jumped from 30th place in 2007 to 44th in 2008, it's still more expensive than Toronto, Los Angeles or Hamburg. However, it is a wonderful gateway to the undiscovered and distinctive country. Kazakh people are very kind and welcoming and you will be pleasantly surprised by the hospitality. Almaty hosted the England v. Kazakhstan WC2010 football game on 6 June 2009.
For people from most countries, the easiest way to get to Kazakhstan is by air. Several airlines have regular flights into Almaty, including the low-cost carrier airBaltic from Riga, Lufthansa, CSA, Etihad Airways, KLM, bmi and Turkish Airlines, to name a few. It's roughly a 7-8 hour flight from Europe. Kazakhstan Airlines is no longer operational, leaving Air Astana [1] the national carrier of the country and operator of most domestic routes. Air Astana, with a fairly modern fleet of Airbuses and Boeings, has direct flights from major European cities such as London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, and is a comfortable and reasonably priced alternative to the European airlines. Visas must be obtained in advance of arrival, as they are no longer available on arrival at the airport, (unless you are arriving from a country that has no consulate, and that type of plane-side visa usually need to be coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at least one week in advance).
Easy connections from Almaty include Moscow, London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Turkey, Seoul, Beijing, Delhi and Dubai with direct flights. Etihad Airways, [www.etihadairways.com], flies 4 times a week to Abu Dhabi, Air Arabia flies to Sharjah twice a week and Air Astana flies to Dubai daily. The airport is small, but getting busier by the day. Sometimes, several flights depart around the same time, meaning shocking queues and waits for no apparent reason. Be early, and expect delays to your flight. Lots of departures from Almaty end up leaving a bit late, but most arrivals are pretty timely. A taxi from the airport to the city costs about $20 - $25.
When leaving by air, you need to fill out a customs declaration form. There is a multilingual computerised kiosk available but don't bother with this - it's quicker and easier to fill one out by hand at the stand immediately opposite the entrance to the check-in area. The forms are available in several languages including English and German. Check-in desks open around 3 hours before flight departure and you are not permitted into the check-in area until the desks for your flight have opened. Your customs form will be examined when entering the check-in area; there may be substantial queues.
There are usually several queues for passport control; experience says that it is best to avoid the right-most queue as air-crew commonly queue-jump this one, leading to delays at the passport kiosk.
From Russia:
There are many rail connections between Russia and Kazakhstan. Train 8 goes from Moscow to Almaty, and departs from Kazanski Station. The trip takes about 82 hours, with stops in Saratov, Uralsk, Aktobe, Turkistan, and Shymkent on the way.
From Ürümqi, China:
The N955 train leaves every Saturday and Monday night (11.58 Beijing time) direct to Almaty. To buy the ticket in Ürümqi the office is in a hotel to the right of the main station. Tickets need to purchased a few days in advance and cost 541 yuan (about USD80). Ticket sale for the Saturday train starts on Monday 10am, for the Monday train it starts Friday 10am. The train on Saturday is very busy, while for the train on Monday it is possible to purchase the ticket on the same day. Organizing the Kazakh visum in Urumqi takes at least 2 working days.
The trip takes 34 hours, six of which are spent clearing Chinese and Kazakh immigration. Taking the bus or flying are better options if you are in a hurry.
If you are leaving Almaty by train remember that there are two main train stations.
Sleeper buses leave from Urumqi at 6pm every day of the week except Saturday and take approximately 24 hours to arrive in Almaty (November 2008: only buses on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7pm). Tickets for a lower bed are Y420, upper beds are Y400, and a berth in the back bed of the bus is Y380. Buses depart from the international branch of the Nianzigou Bus Station (碾子沟客运站), which is located about 50 meters to the left of the main Nianzigou station (if facing the front of the station) on the other side of the Wenshabao (温莎堡) building. Beware that the crossing at Korgas (霍尔果斯) closes on Chinese national holidays (including the first week of October for National Day).
Buses also leave from Yining and it takes about 10 hours to go to Almaty. They cost USD 30 or Y150. These buses leave two or three times in a week, ask the busdrives in Yining when they will go. You could also take a bus to Korgas from Yining (Y30 - Y38) and go to Kazakhstan by foot from Korgas. After being on the other side of the border you could take a taxi which will cost about 3000 Tenge to go to Almaty. The trip from Korgas to Almaty is about 4 to 6 hours. The city of Tacheng city (north of Korgas and south of Yining) also has buses that run several times a week to Almaty and back.
The new number for the OVIR is 87272-544132
Remember that the mountains outside of town are critical to direction. When someone tells you to head "up," they are telling you to head towards the mountains. When someone tells you to head "down," they are telling you to head away from the mountains.
Take bus number 6 in front of Hotel Kazakhstan on Dostyk Ave. to go to the Medeu (50T), every 20 minutes.
As of 26 February 2009, $1 equals about 150 tenge and 1 Euro is 190 tenge. As a comparison: a Snickers bar is 54 tenge; a can of Coke is 55 tenge; a cheese pizza at il Patio is about 800 tenge; a cinema ticket for a movie is about 850 tenge; a small trip about 10 minutes in length in a taxi - 300-400 tenge; cigarettes 50-100 tenge; vodka 350 tenge+, beer 500ml 70 tenge+, a litre of juice is around 135 tenge. Beef is 500-1500 tenge a kilo, pork 400 tenge a kilo, horse meat 1500 tenge a kilo. A loaf of bread is 35 - 50 tenge. A 2 bedroom modern apartment is $2000 a month. Clothing is expensive unless buying knock-offs at Baraholka. Green Market is generally expensive. Ramstor is a large, modern, high profile hypermarket on Furmanov. It is REALLY expensive compared to other stores. Buy in smaller local shops, or Baraholka, to save on costs. If money is not a problem, LOTS of over the top European designers have stores on almost every street throughout Almaty.
Menus are in English, Russian and Kazakh, and the place has the funkiest cocktail menu in Central Asia. Open till midnight 7 days a week. Boudoir is located on Bogenbai Batyr underneath the Kazpost (near Ablai Khan).
"Five fingers", a traditional Kazakh food. "Beshbarmak", a stew with leaves of noodles and pieces of lamb. "Baurzaki", heavy, spongy bread dough cooked in deep fat (similar to a donut, but not sweet). "Plov", a rice dish with meat and carrots or other vegetables. "Shashlik" (Russian: Шашлык) is the most tasty Kazakh food. It is a kebab that is made out of chicken or lamb. Shashlik is not fried, but is grilled over charcoal. Shashlik is popular throughout this part of Central Asia. You can also easily find "doner kebab" or "shaurma" at any number of stands through the city. Just be sure to use the stands with the most customers - it is often the best food, and it is freshly prepared.
Almaty has many modern supermarkets, offering everything from a bakery section to toiletries to vodka. Any food you could possibly want to find is readily available.
There is a chain called "Gros" (really) that has convenient locations around town and a good selection of drinks and snacks. Ramstore also has at least three locations, but is a bit pricier as it caters to expats willing to spend a lot of money on imported food. The favorite stores among locals are Stolichni (super helpful staff and decent fruits/vegetables year 'round, on corner of Ablai Khan and Kabanbai Batyr), but vegetable prices are very expensive, Dasterkhan (excellent baked goods, especially cakes and cookies!!! on Gogol between Ablai Khan and Furmanova), and Silkway City (a few locations).
Of course, if you really want to save money and enjoy an adventure, go to the Green Market and bargain with the old ladies selling Korean salads, apples, eggplants, cheese, honey, and even arucola and rosemary sprigs!
Try the local variety, a good one can be had for less than $ 4.00 a bottle. Bebigul is perhaps the most consistently good wine, and it comes in a semidry red or semidry white. Foreign wines, even Georgian ones, are very costly. Do not drink wine in restaurants, it's usually sickly sweet and very expensive. Also, many expensive, imported "wines" sold in stores (even reputable stores) are actually well-made counterfeit labels pasted on bottles of red-tinted water, so beware! It i spot luck as to if a bottle of white will be served chilled, so make sure you check before they open it.
Good vodka at 4-5 $ per bottle - an alcoholic's paradise. In restaurants that do not usually cater to foreigners you get 20(!) cl if you order a vodka, smaller servings not available.
Buy a bottle of Kazakhstan Vodka to take back. It is in a pretty bottle with a picture of Kazakh hunting with a falcon seen through a "window".
Try Edil vodka, which is made with the pantacrene of local deer antlers.
You might want to stick to Glavspirttrest vodka imported from Russia. Smooth taste and no hangover.
*INTERNATIONAL ALATAU HOTEL & BUSINESS CENTER 80 usd single address : Dostyk 105 Almaty /Kazakhstan tel : +7(727)258 11 11 fax: +7(727)258 15 55 e-mail: alatauhotel@mail.ru
121 Zheltoksan Street Almaty-Kazakhstan 050000 Tel: + 7 - 7272 - 50 89 88 Fax: + 7 - 7272 - 72 64 41
Quiet place in East Center. Clean and Asian style. Singl 100$ Doubles 120$
In case of emergency, please call "01" (Fire services), "02" (Police), "03" (Ambulance), "04" (Gas Service), "051" (Rescue service in emergency situations). Starting from 15 March 2009, all these phone numbers will be amended as follows: "101" (Fire services), "102" (Police), "103" (Ambulance), "104" (Gas Service), "112" (Rescue service in emergency situations).
As with most major cities, avoid traveling alone at night, and never get into altercations with locals first.
Kazakh driving is wild. Drivers attack their art with an equal mix of aggressiveness and incompetence. Guidelines are lax and rarely followed. As a pedestrian, take great care when crossing the roads.
Kazakh people are extremely friendly and welcoming towards foreigners and nothing should happen to you unless you really want it yourself. If you don't care about them, they don't care about you and nothing should be in your way of having a great holiday!
Always carry a national passport with a valid entry clearance with you. Police officers may request to show an identity document.
Canada, 34 Karasai Batyr Street
Almaty 050010 Republic of Kazakhstan, ☎ +7 (727) 50-11-51/52/53 (almat@international.gc.ca,
fax: +7 (727) 582-493). edithttp://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/kazakhstan/
[10].Tamgaly –Temple of Sun.In 170 km from Almaty, in the North-West direction, a unique sanctuary in the open air- Tamgaly is located. In the desert lands, where ancient rocks and gorges tower their crowns, a chain of kurgans-burial grounds lie. This is the very place, where a gallery of rock drawings left by ancient people of Saks and Turks tribes could be found. On the petroglyphs you can see deities, that Kazakh ancient people worshiped, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic creatures, spiritual rites. Nearby Chimbulak is a skiing village. There are a number of ski resorts in the area.
There are the gorgeous Tian-Shan mountains and lakes around Almaty, the most famous of which is the beautiful Big Almaty Lake.
There is a nearby desert park with a giant canyon (Charyn Canyon), although it does not approach the Grand Canyon in size. It also has petroglyphs and waterfalls.
If travelers have several days to spend (and are craving a beach experience), Lake Balkhash, the largest lake in the nation, can be reached by bus within 12 hours or private car within 8 hours. Lake Balkhash is half fresh (the eastern half where the river enters from China) and half salt (the western half). There are a couple of 2-star hotels in the village of Balkhash, which is the half-way point between Almaty and Astana if you want to drive 800 km instead of flying or taking the train.
The Tamgaly petroglyphs, a UNESCO site, are about 2-1/2 hours away by car (on the road to Bishkek). The petroglyphs range from ancient (3,000 years) to "modern" (75 years), and feature pictures of the Sunman and hunting nomad tribes. There are also several grave sites. Not to be missed in the spring, summer, or fall, but watch out for snakes when it's hot!
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, is a 3-1/2 hour drive away on the best highway in Kazakhstan (pot holes are rare and you can keep a 100km pace easily after leaving the Almaty oblast, but watch out for crazy oncoming passers). You can catch a taxi to Bishkek at "Sayran" international coach station. Approach a group of cars with Kyrgyz number plates and negotiate the price in advance. As of 19 January 2009, the average fare is KZT2,500-3,000 per person. It is definitely worth the drive if you have a day or so to spend. You'll wind along the foot of the Tien Shan range through incredible landscape created by young volcanoes. Most of the "local" felt goods and rugs sold in Almaty come from tribes in Kyrgyzstan, and can be bought for a quarter of the cost in Kyrgyzstan. Make it into a two-day excursion and stop at Tamgaly petroglyphs on the way from or the return trip to Almaty.
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Category: Usable articles
Contents |
Transliteration from the Kazakh name Алматы, which is an adjective form of Kazakh word for apple (алма).
|
Singular |
Plural |
Almaty
| Almaty Алматы |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Coordinates: 43°16′39″N 76°53′45″E / 43.2775°N 76.89583°E | |||
| Country | Kazakhstan | ||
| Province | Almaty Province | ||
| First settled | 10th-9th century BC | ||
| Founded | 1854 | ||
| Incorporated (city) | 1867 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Akim (mayor) | Akhmetzhan Yesimov | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 324.8 km2 (125.4 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 500 - 1,700 m (1,640 - 5,577 ft) | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| - Total | 1,226,300 | ||
| - Density | 3,776/km2 (9,779.8/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | BTT (UTC+6) | ||
| Postal code | 050000 - 050063 | ||
| Area code(s) | +7 727[1] | ||
| Website | http://www.almaty.kz | ||
Almaty (Kazakh: Алматы; formerly known as Alma-Ata (Алма-Ата), also Verniy, (Верный)) is the largest city in Kazakhstan. It has a population of 1,226,000 people (as of 2005)[2]). Eight percent of the population of the country live in Almaty. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1998. Although it is not the capital today, Almaty is still the major commercial center of Kazakhstan.
The name "Almaty" comes from the Kazakh word for "apple" (алма). The name is often translated as a city "rich with apples". The older Soviet-era Russian name for the city, Alma-Ata, comes from a mistake (the name literally means "Grandfather of apples"). In the area around Almaty, there are many different species of the wild apples. The region is thought to be the ancestral home of the apple. A local species of apple, the wild Malus sieversii, may be the ancestor of the modern domestic apple.
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